Karlie Samuelson Shines in Her First Season with the Minnesota Lynx

Karlie Samuelson, a seven-year WNBA veteran, has quickly become a key player for the Minnesota Lynx this season. Joining the team with aspirations of contributing to a successful campaign, she expressed her excitement about playing under the legendary coach Cheryl Reeve.

"I couldn't be happier, and I get to play for a legend like Cheryl [Reeve]," Samuelson stated, highlighting her enthusiasm for the opportunity.

The Lynx acquired Samuelson on draft day in April while she was mid-flight. "My phone started blowing up with 'Congrats, Oh my gosh…' and my heart starts pounding," she recalled. "I kind of figured I was traded or something happened, but I didn't know where. No one was saying where." It wasn't until she received a text from Eric Thibault, her former coach with the Washington Mystics, that the news became clear. "Let's go!" he wrote, prompting her to call her sister Katie Lou Samuelson for confirmation. "Yeah, it's been public for 5 hours now," her sister informed her.

Samuelson isn't the only new face on the Lynx; Thibault has joined as the associate head coach under Reeve. "Last year we saw something in Karlie, maybe before some other teams did," Thibault explained. "Knowing we had a chance to get her here to complement the players we already had, I thought it would be a great fit."

So far, Samuelson has made an impressive start, scoring 27 points in her first four games and hitting 41% from beyond the arc. "I know that [Thibault] has my best interests at heart," she said. "He'll tell me things as they happen, like, 'Hey, you missed that tag over there,' and I'm like thanks yeah you're right. I'm new, but I feel super comfortable in the system and all the girls are lovely."

Marielle Mohs, a local journalist from Eden Prairie and South Minneapolis, is excited to cover these stories in her home state.